The present invention relates to a cutter head for a motor chainsaw, especially for a tree pruner, wherein the saw chain guided on a guide bar is driven by a drive pinion which is secured onto a portion of a drive shaft projecting from the housing. The guide bar is clamped between a housing side of the housing and a cover for the drive pinion. The cover rests at least over the area of outgoing deflection of the saw chain at the facing housing wall of the housing and thus delimits a cuttings chamber that is substantially open toward the guide bar.
Such cutter heads or cutter head assemblies are known. The saw chain driven by the drive pinion circulates on the guide bar which is clamped between an abutment surface of the housing and the drive pinion cover. The drive pinion cover encloses the pinion and rests with its circumferential rim at areas of the deflection portion of the saw chain at the facing housing wall so that a cuttings chamber is defined which is substantially open in a direction toward the guide bar. The circumferential rim is shortened at the underside of the housing so that wood cuttings that are entrained by the saw chain into the cuttings chamber can fall out under the force of gravity.
When working with motor chain saws in an overhead position, especially in connection with tree pruners, the ejection of wood cuttings at the underside of the cover facing the operator, is impractical because the operator would be subjected to a spray of cuttings which would impede working with the device.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve a cutter head of the aforementioned kind and provide it with a cover such that even for over head operation cuttings ejection without impacting the operator can be ensured.